


Platform

by defiantAuthoress



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, Gen, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-01
Updated: 2013-04-01
Packaged: 2017-12-07 05:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/744806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defiantAuthoress/pseuds/defiantAuthoress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the beginning, Glimmer has needed to be the best. Now, she has one minute of reflection before it all goes downhill.<br/>Drabble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Platform

Until now, I have known that I am the best. And now I have only one minute to think about the doubts that I have. I have one minute until I have to believe that I am the best again.  
As far as I can remember, my first word was “best”. It wasn't “mother” or “father” or anything that is remotely normal for a child to learn to pronounce. Instead, it was the word that I had to become.  
From the moment I could walk, I was learning to run; going through training drills with the other children, walking up and down the stairs repeatedly with my mother’s aid to make sure I didn’t fall and hit my head. From the moment I could speak in coherent sentences, I was learning how to be charismatic and charming, and how to manipulate others; being encouraged to talk my peers into doing wrong, learning how to spell vocabulary words far beyond my level, and learning the right way to impress someone.  
From the moment I could comprehend, I knew I was going to grow up and die. That was my job, right? It was what I was raised to do.  
The first time I compared myself to other children in my District was at ten years old. And from then on, I knew I wasn't good enough. There were people like Cashmere and Gloss, real victors, ruthless killing machines that would make it in the Games.  
Then there was me.  
Glimmer Matrimonial. The pretty blonde. The ruthless thinker. The sexy one. The smart one. The perfect one. Her mother’s and father’s little angel, the one who would bring them home riches and prestige.  
For a long second I imagine how freeing it would be to throw myself off my platform. I could escape all this, with one small step forward. There could be a place in Heaven for me, if I really begged.  
I take a deep breath, and say goodbye to my life, to my future, to marriage, to old age, to everything that I know that I will never have.  
The minute is up.  
The gong sounds.  
And I am running.


End file.
